Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has dedicated its Consumer Toll-Free Number 622, to serve as 2023 Presidential Election Incident Hotline to enable voters and members of the public across Nigeria to report any issues that may affect them, or others, during the elections on Saturday, February 25, 2023. This step is to support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in its patriotic commitment, towards the conduct of hitch-free elections in Nigeria. The Toll-Free Number 622 is the second-level complaints centre through which consumers of telecommunications services are allowed to make calls directly to the Commission, to resolve issues concerning their…

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has sacked the Akwa Ibom State Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Michael Enoyong, who recently emerged as the governorship candidate following a court order issued by a Federal High Court. Following the sack of Enoyong, the court ordered the mandate of Pastor Umo Eno, who had earlier emerged as the winner of the primary conducted by the party, be restored. The court in addition ordered Enyong to pay the sum of N1 million to the appellant as a cost. Enyong, who was reported to have emerged as the candidate of the party in…

The Lagos government has directed schools to observe the mid-term break for the 2022/2023 second-term academic session. Director General, Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Abiola Seriki-Ayeni disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday. The directive followed the amended harmonised calendar approved by Commissioner for Education, Folashade Adefisayo. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni said the break commences Friday, February 24 and applicable to all public and private schools in the state. “This compliance is mandatory for all schools below tertiary level, while emergency preparedness and safety precautions should be in place,” he said. The holiday ends on March 3, while school resumes on…

Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti has reflected on his side’s 5-2 win at Liverpool in the Champions League round of 16 first leg. The Reds raced into a two-goal lead, thanks to Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah. But Madrid fought back to level in the first half with a Vinicius Jr brace. Militao, a Joe Gomez own goal and Karim Benzema saw the LaLiga champions take a big advantage back to the Bernabeu. We were very efficient in front of goal when we managed to break out from their pressure. We improved our defensive game because in the first half…

Former Watford boss Javi Gracia is set to be named the manager of Leeds United, ending the club’s search for Jesse Marsch’s successor. Marsch was sacked on 6 February but the Whites have faced several setbacks in their hunt for his replacement. Spaniard Gracia, 52, took Watford to the FA Cup final in 2019, before managing Valencia and Al Sadd in Qatar. Leeds are 19th in the Premier League and face bottom club Southampton on Saturday. Under-21 boss Michael Skubala has been in interim charge since Marsch’s sacking despite club owner Andrea Radrizzani initially promising a quick appointment. An approach…

The Resident Electoral Commissione, REC, in Lagos State, Olusegun Agbaje, has said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will continue with its logistics arrangement for the elections commencing this Saturday. Recall that Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos, on Monday, restrained INEC from engaging the Lagos State Parks Management Committee, or any of its commercial bus drivers in the distribution of election materials for the February 25 and March 11 polls. The parties filed the suit, marked FHC/L/CS/271/2023, alongside their governorship candidates in Lagos — Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (LP); Funsho Doherty (ADC), and Wale Oluwo (Boot Party).…

There is confusion as to how an explosion and fire outbreak in Okehi council area of Kogi state came about on Monday night. While some people said the fire outbreak was the handiwork of yet-to-be-identified gunmen, who blew off the administrative offices of the Okehi Local Government secretariat, others said it was the treasury department that was gutted by a ‘mysterious’ fire. They said the incident occurred on Monday night when the assailants invaded the area with explosives. But some staff of the local government, who pleaded anonymity, said the incident was not the work of any terrorist. They linked…

In a notice on its website, the US government advised its citizens to avoid political rallies as “they can turn violent with little or no notice”. In the notice titled ‘Security Alert — Possible Protests Leading to Elections and Restricted Movements on Election Days’, the embassy asked its citizens to be alert to information from the Nigerian government. The notice read: “The Government of Nigeria will restrict the movement of all personal vehicles on election days across the country. Information from the Government of Nigeria indicates that only law enforcement personnel and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)-accredited election observers will be allowed to move…

With four days to the 2023 elections, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has said his political ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. Atiku spoke while addressing members of the Rivers State chapter of PDP in Abuja following the suspension of his rally in the state. He explained that the rally in Rivers State was suspended to protect the lives of people. The PDP presidential candidate pledged to include women and youths in his recovery plan if elected. Atiku also assured stakeholders from the state of completing the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri rail project…

Three financial associations have assured that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks would do everything possible to ensure availability of the Naira to the general public. The associations are Chief Security Officers in Banks (CSOs), Committee of Heads of Operations of Banks (CHOBs) and Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB), In a statement on Monday by Mr Rasheed Bolarinwa, President, ACAMB, said the three bodies gave the assurance in a communique at the end of their tripartite meeting on Sunday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was held in Lagos and…

Six people have died in an earthquake that struck the border region of Turkey and Syria, on Monday, just two weeks after a larger quake killed more than 47,000 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes. The latest quake which was a magnitude of 6.4 happened near the southern Turkish city of Antakya and was felt in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon, Reuters reported on Tuesday. It struck at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. A rescue team was seen climbing a ladder to gain access into one building where some people…

The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Lucky Irabor, yesterday, declared that the Armed Forces of Nigeria were prepared to ensure a secured general election, starting this Saturday. He spoke after a meeting with military service chiefs and other security chiefs including the Inspector-General of Police, Director-General of DSS, Director-General of NIA and the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI) ahead of the elections. Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Irabor reassured Nigerians that the armed forces and other security agencies were ready to provide a safe and secure environment for the elections. He said the purpose of the meeting was to…